Effect of Dietary Vitamin A and Cholesterol on Cholesterol and Carotenoid Content of Plasma and Egg Yolk

Abstract

Kinley and Krause (1959) reported a decrease in the elevated serum cholesterol of atherosclerotic human patients following the oral administration of high vitamin A levels. Similar observations have been made on serum cholesterol level of chicks made hypercholesterolemic by the addition of cholesterol to the diet (Wood, 1960). Quite recently, Bring et al. (1965) reported an inverse relationship between vitamin A and cholesterol content of serum and liver in rats fed diets containing added cholesterol.This study was designed to determine the influence of high vitamin A fed with and without dietary cholesterol on the total cholesterol and carotenoid content of plasma and egg yolk of hens.Thirty-six White Leghorn hens, in their eighth month of production, were maintained in conventional individual laying cages. All hens were fed a yellow corn-soybean meal type basal diet (containing 4,490 I.U. of added vitamin A/kg.) for a 3-week pretest period. The experimental diets …